Tobpedo-rindee



W. DIETER.

TORPEDO FINDER.

APPLICATION FILED HAY I4, I9I9.

Patented Oct. 21,1919.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

WITNESS:

By Aftomeys, aka/om QM MW W. DIETER.

TORPEDO FINDER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY I4. I919.

1,319,051. I Patented Oct. 21,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOR WITNESS:

By Aftorneys, 6mm OM; k

Tm: CDLUMBIA PLANOURAPH (10.. WASHINGTON D c PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM DIETER, F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK To all whom it may concern: Be itknown'that 1, WILLIAM DIETER, a

citizen of the United States of America, re-

siding in Brooklyn, in the county of Kings, city and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Torpedo-Finders, ofwhich the following is a specification. This invention provides a devicefor facilitating the finding of torpedoes after trial or practice runs.I y I In thetesting of torpedoes and subsequently in naval practice, itis customary to launch them under conditions precisely duplicating thosein actual warfare, except that a harmless practice head is used in placeof the war head containing an explosive charge. In such practice runsthe torpedooften travels as far as eight miles, and underactualconditions of weather and water, it is frequently almost impossible todetermine where in its course the run of the torpedo ends. Although thetorpedo is designed to floatto the surface at the end of a practice run,yet it often happens that it fails to do so? for one cause or another,usually because it may have buried'itself so deeply in mud that it isunable to rise. So great'is the difliculty of finding torpedoes aftersuch practice runs, that it happens 7 that in a considerable percentageof cases the torpedo is never recovered, a circumstance involving veryheavy loss.

Many efforts have been made to locate or disclose the position oftorpedoesat the end ofa practice run. For example, the torpedo at theendof its. run has discharged compressed air rising in bubbles to thesurface;

' i vor it'has discharged a gas such as calcium phosphidpwhich on risingto the surface would take fire and emit smoke; or 'it has 'been'causedto eject a float which would rise to the surface. The difliculty withall such vschemes is that when the torpedo buries it'- self inmud, as itusually does when it f'ails itself to float'to the surface, anyfinder-is apt :to be unable to rise .through fthe mud-so .as to reachthe surface. ful means thus far used hasbeen in the na- .ture of a floator buoy towed-behind thetor- -pedo during itsrun, using a line ofsufficient 'length'so that however deeply the torpedo The" most-successmay sink, thefioat may still reach the sur face. This plan,however, involves practical ronPEno-rmnrm.

Specification of Letters, Patent. Patented Application fi ea'm 14, 1919.Serial No. 297,124."

drawings, whereindifiiculties which heretofore have tended to discourageits adoption.

The present 11'lV6Ilt1OIl PlOVIdBS an improved construction whereby afinder in the torpedo. As the torpedo is launched it drags the lineafter it, the 'line being unreeled and paying off through the buoy untilit is all run'out, whereupon a'button or enlargement on its end strikesthe end of the buoy and carries thelatter with it, thereby launching thebuoy, which thereafter is towed'behind the torpedo. The peculiarmerit'of theinvention lies in the provision for preventing any foulingof the line, a difficulty which heretofore has proved"practicallyinsurmountable with'finders of this type.

' The preferred construction embodying the invention is-shown in theaccompanying Figure 1 is a sectional view showing the rear or breechportionof the launching tube,

with the tail portion of the torpedo lying within it, ready for'launching. The view is a longitudinal, vertical mid-section through thelaunching tube, the torpedo being partly broken away and shown'inmid-section;

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section on the line 22 in Fig; 1; 3 I

Fig. 3' is a similar'section on the line 3-3 inFig.1;- j r I 1 Fig.4 isafragmentary longitudinal section showinga portion of the torpedo;toillustrate the connection of the towing line therewith; Fig. 5is "anelevation on a small scale,

I Fig. 6 shows the torpedo buried in mud at .the end of its run, and thebuoy inaction; Fig. 7is a vertical section showlng a m0d1- showing I thetorpedo in its run towing the T breech-closing door E, with the usualchain bered projection To the rear of this projection is atubularextension G which may conveniently be formed by screwing a piece=fitting receptacle for the buoy. The buoy is tapered at both ends, andthe cap H has its opening small enough to engage the tapered rear endportion of the buoy, the latter preferably slightly. projecting throughit, as shown.- The buoy is shown as made tubular, beingbored throughlongitudinally, and the towing line D passes through this bore. The buoymaybeof wood or of'any material sufficiently light to insure itsfloating to the surface when the towing effort ceases. The line D iscoiled outside of the launching tube (instead of within it,' asheretofore), so that. when the torpedo is launched it may freely pay outthrough-the bore in the buoy. To prevent possibility of fouling, thepreferable way is to coil the line on a'reel J which is pivoted aft ofthe launching tube, so that its peripheral groove,

in. which the line is wound, is approximately tangential withthe bore,so that the line when winding from the reel may freely enter and pay outthrough the bore of the buoy. The reel may be conveniently mounted on astationary spindle a, the head b of which is riveted or otherwisefixedly connected to a bracket arm 0 which is fastened to any convenientsuppOIt, preferably the tubular portion G to which it maybe clamped byclamping vmeans cland bolts c.

To prevent the reel from overrunning and paying out the line toofast,-so that the line might foul, the reel is subjected to a slighttension, as by means'of a washer f, spring 9, and adjusting' nut hj(Fig. 2)I.- I V F or attaching the line to the torpedo, the preferablemeans is to provide a swivelconnection with theinner propeller shaft Kof the latter. This shaft is alway s'made tubular and affords thedischarge for the exhaust air from the engine or turbine. Vhere it islocked to theforwardsection K of the inner propeller shaft by means ofthe usual screw 71, a swiveled bail L is conveniently connected. In theconstruction shown, this is done bymeans of ascrew-j entering the head.of the screw andzhavjng a shouldered neck portion confining theinternal flange of a loose collar'ktowhich thebail L ispivotallyunitedtThe parts lg, 71, 7',

.being rotative, the parts is L may remain stationary or nearly so. .Tothe bail- L is ,connected awire D which extends slightly iaftof thetorpedo and terminates in. a swivel the buoy.

The characteristic feature of the present invention is the provision ofthe buoy with a bore or orifice through which the line passes, so thatupon launching the torpedo the line pays out through the buoy, or a partthereof, until the enlargement or button on its tail end strikes thebuoy and carries the latter out from the launching tube. Thisconstruction and arrangement, avoids the difficulties heretoforeexperienced in the fouling and. often breaking of the line, with theconsequent failure of the buoy to follow the torpedo andserve as afinder when the latter reaches the end of its run 1 The line is madelong enough so that-at i the end of the run of the torpedo, no matterhow deeply it may bury itself in mud, there will still be sufficientfree line to enablethe buoy to fioatto the surface. Sucha buoyprojecting like a beacon above the water, may be readily seen, eventhough quite small, and when once found it is a simple matter to locatethe torpedo and to either immediately recover it or mark it for futurerecovelf-ya 7 7 v While the specific construction described is thatdeemed preferable, yet it is 'to be understood that the invention isnot'limited to the precise details, proportions-and arrangements setforth, but may be varied within reasonable limits according to requirements and as may be suggested from the standpoint of the skill orjudgment of the engineer;

of line and the reel carrying it, be located externallytoand aft of thelaunching tube, as'they might, by reconstructing thebr'eech For example,it is not esse'n. V tial to the lnventlon that the coiled reserveportion or door of the tube, be located within it'to like effect, thatis, so that the line as it pays oif the reel may reave out through Whileit is-preferable to make' the buoy tubular, yet a fair equivalentthereforwould befound in; the provision of a loop at-tlie bowend of theybuoy,through which loop the 'linemay pay. and be caught by a'button orenlargement on the end of the line-.; This modifications here suggested,the reel J bemg located within the rear door E of the launching tube,and thebuoy B being nontubular and having at its, forward end. a

is shown 'in Fig.7, which illustrates'thez wire 19 terminating in a loop9. This loop forms an orifice which is the equivalent of the orificeformed by the bore of the tubular buoy in the preferred constructionfirst described. In the present construction the rear cap H isimperforate, a fact which renders it the preferable construction forunderwater tubes. The construction first described is the preferable onefor overwater launching tubes. 7

The swivel construction for connecting the towing line to the torpedohas the advantages of affording a central and symmetrical connection,and preventing any fouling of the line with the propeller screws. Togain these advantages it is necessary to make the connection with arevolving element of the torpedo, and this, to avoid undue twisting ofthe towing line, necessitates the use of one or more swivels. Theinterposition of the wire section D between the bail L and the swivel mprotects the line D from any engagement with the torpedo which mightresult in chafing, and also protects it from the heat of the exhaustgases, the swivel m being located far enough aft so that the water mayclose in at the wake of the torpedo and keep the line cool.

What I claim is i l. The combination with a torpedo of a torpedo findercomprising a buoy having an orifice, a line attached to the torpedo andrun through such orifice of the buoy, the surplus line being coiled aftthereof, and the line terminating in an enlargement larger than saidorifice, so that as the line is paid out, the end portion carries thebuoy with it.

2. The combination with a torpedo of a finder according to claim 1,having a reel on which the coiled line is wound, so that as the torpedois launched, the line pays off the reel and through the orifice of thebuoy.

3. The combination with a torpedo and launching tube, of a findercomprising a buoy having an orifice, and a towing line attached to thetorpedo and paying through such orifice, the launching tube having meansfor holding the buoy so that it is free to be drawn out when the line istaken up.

4:. The combination of claim 3, the hold- Gopies of. this patent may beobtained for ing means on the launching tube consisting of a tubularportion forming an elongated chamber loosely fitting the buoy.

5. The combination of claim 3, the buoy being tubular, its holdingchamber having a rear opening, and the line passed through the bore ofthe buoy and said opening and coiled rearwardly of and exterior to thelaunching tube.

6. The combination with a torpedo of a torpedo finder comprising atubular buoy, a towing line attached to the torpedo and run through thebore of the buoy, and a button or enlargement at the aft end of saidline adapted to abut the buoy to tow it after the torpedo.

7. The combination with a torpedo of a torpedo finder comprising atubular buoy, a towing line attached to the torpedo and run through thebore of the buoy, and a reel aft of the buoy on which the line iscoiled, so that when the torpedo is launched, the line pays ofi' thereel and through the buoy.

. 8. The combination with a torpedo and launching tube, of a findercomprising a buoy having an orifice and a towing line attached to thetorpedo paying through such orifice, a reel on which the line is wound,and means for applying a tension to-the reel to prevent overrunning.

9. The combination with a torpedo and launching tube, of a findercomprising a buoy and a towing line therefor, and means for attachingsuch line to the torpedo, including a 'swivel connection to a revolvingpart at the tail of the torpedo.

10. The combination of claim 9, said swivel connection engaging theinner propeller shaft.

11. The combination of claim 9, said swivel connection engaging theforward par-t of the inner propeller shaft.

12. The combination of claim 9, including a wire interposed between theswivel connection with the torpedo and the towing line at a point aft ofthe torpedo.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name.

WILLIAM DIETER.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington,D. 0.

